February was another good month for LAFC soccer. Four players will be headed to college in the fall, adding to a growing list of distinguished alumni who have used soccer as a springboard for furthering their education. Morgan Barnes will play for the University of San Francisco, Umar Issa and Francisco Cantero are headed to Kansas Wesleyan, an NAIA school, and Santos Romero Rios is headed to California State University Dominguez Hills. Their commitments follow by less than two months the acceptance of four other players to strong college programs.

Eleven players were invited to a national training camp that begins March 9 at Mt. San Antonio College. LAFC standouts Pablito Cruz, Martin Irhueta, Jose Dheming and Marco Delgado will attend the U18 national training camp, while Hugo Guttierez, Kevin Deniz, Kevin Cervantez, William Reygosa, Alejandro Sanchez and Vincent Reyes were selected for the U16 age group. These monthly camps, part of the United States Soccer Development Academy, help pinpoint players for national youth teams. Hugo Perez, a scout for the USSDA, oversees the Mt. San Antonio program.

In the recently completed California Cup for age groups U9 through U13, two teams won titles, while another six reached at least the semifinals. This is no small achievement at one of the most challenging tournaments in Southern California.